Hot thermostat

In a pressurized system probably be ok but in a non pressurized system good chance it would get hot enough to blow a good bit of coolant out
 
I think the downside is that it will get hot again next summer, and as someone else said, probably get the engine hot enough to lose coolant from an unpressurized system under heavy load. The ideal, I guess, would be to switch them out twice a year, but I got enough to keep up with without doing that.
 
I've only had one engine that ran better cool - my '86 Ford bus with the 370. Every fall I changed it to 192 thermostats to keep passengers warm. Every spring I change it to 160's. It had more torque cooler. With a 370 and 71 passenger I needed all the help I could get.

My usual plan is get them to run as warm as I can as long as they are consistent. Idle them a few at shutdown and walk away.
 
I put a 160 degree in when I first put my tractor together. It ran okay, but not right. The other problem is that it sooted really bad. My exhaust is vertical and I always had the stuff on my face and clothes.

I run the hottest I can in everything else, so I switched it out for a 195 degree. It runs much cleaner, peppier, smoother, etc. The only downside is that I don't really work it hard enough in hot weather (or any weather) to ever get it to set on 195. It swings from 180 to 195.

I suspect when the thermo opens, the cold water of the radiator causes it to slam back shut. It creeps up to 195, then drops fast to 180 then begins its slow climb again, over and over. It still runs rings around the same tractor with a 160 degree thermostat but the temp swings drive me nuts! The tractor is a 1959 MF65

Aaron
 
(quoted from post at 14:41:16 12/30/13) I put a 160 degree in when I first put my tractor together. It ran okay, but not right. The other problem is that it sooted really bad. My exhaust is vertical and I always had the stuff on my face and clothes.

I run the hottest I can in everything else, so I switched it out for a 195 degree. It runs much cleaner, peppier, smoother, etc. The only downside is that I don't really work it hard enough in hot weather (or any weather) to ever get it to set on 195. It swings from 180 to 195.

I suspect when the thermo opens, the cold water of the radiator causes it to slam back shut. It creeps up to 195, then drops fast to 180 then begins its slow climb again, over and over. It still runs rings around the same tractor with a 160 degree thermostat but the temp swings drive me nuts! The tractor is a 1959 MF65

Aaron

In years past many thermostats had a small hole to allow coolant to bypass when the thermostat is closed. Some of the new thermostats do not and I think they can seal too tight. Without flow the thermostat cannot get a good reading of the temperature since the flow is dead headed. I like to drill a 1/8" to 3/16" hole to allow a small amount of coolant flow. Might try it, if the thermostat you are using does not have a hole.
 
My thermostat lays flat level so I drilled one in
it! 3/64ths if I recall correctly. I don't think
I work the tractor hard enough and the cooling
system was completely gone through. It may be
working too good. I have considered putting
cardboard in front of the radiator to try to
retain some heat. I suspect the direct drive fan
isn't helping much either. Even with my wonky temp
swings, I like it better this way. Uses less
fuel, too.

Aaron
 
(quoted from post at 15:14:55 12/30/13) I've only had one engine that ran better cool - my '86 Ford bus with the 370. Every fall I changed it to 192 thermostats to keep passengers warm. Every spring I change it to 160's. It had more torque cooler. With a 370 and 71 passenger I needed all the help I could get.

My usual plan is get them to run as warm as I can as long as they are consistent. Idle them a few at shutdown and walk away.

I serviced a fleet that had several 370 engines. Twice a year I changed thermostats in them. They would overheat in the summer with the 192° stats in them and the drivers would complain of no heat in the cab in the winter if they had 160° stats in them.
 
A 3/64" hole is pretty small. Certainly it will eliminate those pesty air locks when filling the system but the bypass flow is not significant. Consider that flow is a function of cross sectional area. It takes 7, 3/64" holes to equal 1, 1/8" hole or 16, 3/64" holes to equal 1, 3/16" hole on a cross sectional area basis.

Yes, covering the radiator in cold weather is a good idea. I run my 8N with a piece of cardboard that covers most of the radiator. Of course the cardboard comes out as soon as the weather warms and for heavy work.
 
Careful with the cardboard blocking the rad. If the fan is loaded and unloaded as it rotates. The blades will flex and on occasion break.
 
Very pro-found observation concerning covering the fan. Typically I block the entire area in front of the fan, plus some, simply to block enough air to get heat into the engine. In the future I will be sure to watch how the fan is covered.
 

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